Since its founding in 1989, it has been Children for Peace's mission to help create peace and understanding in Northern Ireland. The program was inspired by and began during the height of the Troubles (for more information, see "History and Mission" page). Each year, CFP sponsors twelve to sixteen young people, aged 14-17, from Northern Ireland and brings them to Kansas City to live with host families and participate in group activities with American peers for two weeks during July. CFP allows for these teens, a group that consists of half-Catholics and half-Protestants, to have an opportunity to interact and become friends with each other despite their differences.